Dark Debts by Karen Hall Read Free Book Online Page B

in to help. “Do you have any idea why he would have called Randa out of the blue?” Randa appreciated the diplomatic acknowledgment of her existence.
    â€œNo.” Keith looked at her, finally. “He hadn’t mentioned you in a long time.”
    It was another shot. Roger didn’t notice this time. He was lost in his own thoughts. “This whole liquor store thing is from Jupiter.”
    Keith nodded. “The cops had some candy-ass case they wanted off the books, they found out a little about Cam and they just used him.”
    â€œThey said they found the gun in his apartment,” Randa offered. She wasn’t trying to incriminate Cam, but an explanation would be a nice thing to live with.
    â€œThey did?” Keith’s tone was mocking. “Well, that clinches it. The LAPD certainly wouldn’t lie.”
    Randa told herself that Keith was extremely upset about Cam and held her tongue.
    George Maynard appeared in the doorway. George was the paper’s insufferably conceited music critic, whom Cam had always described as “the most obnoxious person I know whom I like anyway.” Randa agreed with the first half of that.
    â€œWhat the hell is going on? Is it true?”
    Roger nodded glumly. “Yeah.”
    â€œChrist. I don’t believe it.” George removed his wire-rimmed glasses in a gesture that seemed calculated. He and Cam had never been particularly close, but there was no way he was going to miss the melodrama. It fascinated Randa, the way people vied for custody of the friendship of anyone who died young or tragically. George, putting in his bid, came into the office and pulled up a chair. “So . . . what? Does anybody believe this?”
    â€œNo one believes he robbed a liquor store,” Roger answered. “I mean, come on.”
    â€œWell, maybe he did.” George had an endearing habit of switching positions the minute anyone agreed with him. “Maybe it was, like, Attack of the Runaway Gene Pool.”
    â€œGeorge.” Roger gave him a look of contempt. George ignored it and turned to Randa. “Somebody said you were there.”
    â€œNo. I mean, I was, but . . . I got there right after . . .” She didn’t know how to finish, so she didn’t.
    â€œWhat were you doing there?” George asked, as if he were conducting a Senate hearing.
    â€œShe says he called her,” Keith answered.
    â€œHe did call me,” Randa said, trying to stay calm.
    Keith shrugged. “Maybe it was someone else, you were half-asleep and you thought it was Cam.”
    â€œDammit!” She picked up a binder from her desk and hurled it at the wall, where it crashed and sent paper flying. The guys were all too stunned to move.
    â€œHe called me! I’m sorry you don’t like the narrative, but that’s what happened!”
    Roger was motioning for her to calm down. “Randa, everybody is just—”
    â€œDon’t!” Randa stopped him. “Whatever happened last night, none of you were in it! And how I felt about Cam and why I felt it was nobody’s damned business a year ago and it’s nobody’s damned business now!” She left, slamming the door behind her as hard as she could.
    She sat in her car and took deep breaths. Now she’d done it. It might have felt good for five minutes, but those five minutes were not going to come cheaply. Keith was already after her scalp. Well, to hell with it. If she got fired she could go find herself a job with a salary she could tell someone with a straight face.
    Truth be told, she had no idea what the fallout from this was going to be. She had no history of outbursts. To the contrary, she usually chewed her nails and internalized and planted the seeds of future ulcers.
    Randa didn’t know what to do with herself. She didn’t want to go home and be alone, but being around other people had certainly not turned out